The Bookseller.com

29th August 2008

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Simon & Schuster makes Kindle push

02.06.08 Philip Jones

Simon & Schuster is the first big US publisher to publicly state its commitment to Amazon.com's Kindle e-book device. The publisher has used the exposure provided by Book Expo America to announce that it is to make 5,000 additional titles available through Amazon, more than doubling the number of its books available on the e-reader.

S&S said the move meant that the books that accounted for the "vast majority of sales" from its catalogue would now be on sale via Kindle.

Carolyn Reidy, president and c.e.o. of Simon & Schuster Inc, said: "At Simon & Schuster, we are excited by how many Kindle books we're selling and the feedback from readers who want to read our titles on their Kindles. We have also learned that readers aren't just looking for new or bestselling books, but also books that are older or hard to find."

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, founder and c.e.o., added: "Kindle is re-igniting a love of reading--after purchasing a Kindle, customers purchase, on average, just as many physical books, and their total book purchases on Amazon increase by 2.6x. Kindle books are also becoming a meaningful portion of Amazon's overall book sales much sooner than we anticipated--of the 125,000 books available both as a physical book and on Kindle, Kindle books already account for over 6% of units sold."

Bezos stated that his goal was "to make any book, ever printed, in any language available in less than 60 seconds".

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